26 Stars Who've Opened Up About Plastic Surgery (original) (raw)

More celebrities are getting real about their plastic surgery experiences.

Courteney Cox, SZA, Jane Fonda and other stars have all been transparent about going under the knife, from tiny jabs and injections to face-lifts, breast augmentations and tummy tucks. Although it’s popularly practiced by many women, Joey Fatone and Jax Taylor are among the famous men who have proudly spoken about receiving plastic surgery to destigmatize the notion that such operations are acceptable for people of certain genders.

To continue the important discourse on beauty and body image, here are 26 stars who’ve talked unabashedly about exploring cosmetic procedures to boost their confidence.

Kelly Ripa

Kelly Ripa wearing a floral Erdem dress during her Fashion Finder segment on Instagram in 2019. Live with Kelly and Ryan/Instagram

In December 2019, during her Fashion Finder segment on Instagram TV, Kelly Ripa revealed that she visited a plastic surgeon to address an issue with her earlobes. "I had gauges, like hanging gauges," the Live with Kelly and Mark host said in the clip.

"See these holes up here," she continued, pointing to where her earrings were placed on her ears. "These were my earholes that tore all the way through. So I had to go to a plastic surgeon."

"There's a piece of my earlobe that's not there because he had to sew it together," she shared.

Ripa, who has four piercings on her left ear and three on her right ear, said she developed "gauges" after wearing hanging earrings, which tore through her lobes over time. "This one really recovered very nicely. This one is perfect," she added about her left ear. "[The right one] was just way worse. The damage was worse."

Fortunately, Ripa's reconstructive surgery allows her to still wear sparkly ear candy.

Sarah Ferguson

Sarah Ferguson attending the BFI Luminous Fundraising Gala at The Roundhouse on Oct. 1, 2019, in London. Dave J Hogan/Getty

Sarah Ferguson opened up about her cosmetic procedures in October 2019, telling the Daily Mail, "I've had a lot of help to look like this at 60."

The ex-wife of Prince Andrew, more affectionately known as Fergie, revealed that she has had procedures done to her face — and her feet — in an effort to look more youthful.

The Duchess of York explained: "I really don’t like the frozen look. I’m so animated, and I like to be myself. I don’t like the thought of needles and am very glad if I look well and happy."

The duchess had also received treatments for a noninvasive laser face-lift, something she underwent in 2018, before her daughter Princess Eugenie's royal wedding. Before finding the noninvasive procedure, Fergie admitted to having had Botox and mesotherapy (which involves injections of vitamins, minerals and amino acids) in the past.

"I need to repair the damage that was done on the beach when I was a child," she told the outlet. "It's why I had the mesotherapy, the vitamin cocktail to hydrate and boost the skin."

In addition to those procedures, Ferguson also had a facial thread lift. "It's like garden trellising for sweat peas. You insert the threads under the skin with a fine needle, and they hold everything up," she explained. "They also encourage collagen production. It takes a couple of months, then the sweet peas bloom!"

In early 2019, Fergie traveled to the Bahamas to have pioneering regenerative stem cell therapy on her feet. "I think my toes were ruined by all the riding I did when I was young," she said.

As Fergie detailed, her big toe bone had to be shaved, and the procedure required her to receive "implanted stem cells — 20 million of them taken from my midriff — into my feet to make new cartilage. … It takes about six months to heal but now I can walk in heels!"

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda at a town hall event in New York. Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Fonda, who once launched a workout video empire (and experienced bulimia for much of her younger years), admits her looks are not all good genes and good luck.

"I'm glad I look good for my age, but I've had plastic surgery," the Oscar-winning actress and activist said in her 2018 HBO documentary about her life, Jane Fonda in Five Acts. "I'm not going to lie about that."

Fonda has been open in the past about why she got work done on her eyes and jawline. "I got tired of looking tired when I wasn't," she explained. Still, she admitted feeling bad about wanting to do it in the documentary.

"On one level, I hate the fact that I've had the need to alter myself physically to feel that I'm OK," she said. "I wish I wasn't like that. I love older faces. I love lived-in faces. I loved Vanessa Redgrave's face. I wish I was braver. But I am what I am."

Anna Faris

Anna Faris attending the 2018 PaleyFest Los Angeles for the CBS sitcom 'Mom'. Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage

Though Anna Faris thought she'd "never, ever" get plastic surgery, the breast augmentation the Scary Movie actress had after turning 30 turned out to be "f------ awesome." "[I] always thought plastic surgery was caving in to 'the man,' you know? But it came down to a really simple thing: I wanted to fill out a bikini," she told Women's Health in 2018.

Cardi B

Cardi B backstage at Revolution Live on Sept. 25, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Thaddaeus McAdams/WireImage

While Cardi B doesn't regret getting butt injections at the age of 21, the “Enough (Miami)” rapper did admit that the $800 procedure was "the craziest pain" she ever experienced. "They don't numb your a-- with anything," she told GQ in 2018 about getting the injections done in a basement in Queens. "I felt like I was gonna pass out. ... And it leaks for, like, five days."

Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks attending the 'Sports Illustrated' Swimsuit 2018 launch event. Craig Barritt/Getty

Tyra Banks has never been afraid to tell it like it is, and when it comes to plastic surgery, she doesn't shy away from the truth.

"I get really uncomfortable when women who are these natural beauties judge anybody who does anything to themselves," she told PEOPLE. In the memoir she co-wrote with her mother, Perfect Is Boring, the supermodel opened up about getting a nose job early in her career. "I could breathe fine, but I added cosmetic surgery,” Banks said. “I admit it! Fake hair, and I did my nose. I feel I have a responsibility to tell the truth."

Jax Taylor

Jax Taylor posing for 'Vanderpump Rules' season 5. Tommy Garcia/Bravo

Taylor, who has been open about his three nose jobs, spoke candidly with PEOPLE about his relationship with plastic surgery in 2016.

"I embrace it," the Vanderpump Rules star said. "Huge fan, not afraid to talk about it." (His costar Scheana Marie feels the same way, opening up about getting Botox every two-and-a-half months. "I can't stand having forehead wrinkles on camera," she said.)

Kaley Cuoco

Kaley Cuoco attending the Paley Center for Media's PaleyFest 2016 Honoring 'The Big Bang Theory' at the Dolby Theatre on March 16, 2016, in Los Angeles. Michael Kovac/Getty

Kaley Cuoco hasn’t hidden her past plastic surgeries — and she doesn't regret them, either. In 2016, the Big Bang Theory star opened up to Women's Health about her past procedures, telling the magazine that she's had rhinoplasty, breast augmentation and fillers in her neck. She said getting the surgeries was the "best thing I ever did."

Cuoco also stressed the importance of only doing it for your own self-assurance. “As much as you want to love your inner self … I’m sorry, you also want to look good. I don’t think you should do it for a man or anyone else, but if it makes you feel confident, that’s amazing.”

Courteney Cox

Courtney Cox wearing black-and-white striped top while on a walk through the city. Michael King/BuzzFoto

While she didn't admit to any specific procedures, Cox didn’t shy away from discussing aging and the pressure to keep up her appearance. "I have done things that I regret, and luckily there are things that dissolve and go away. So that's good because it's not always been my best look," the former Friends star shared during a 2016 episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls. Her new philosophy is simple: "Just let it be.”

Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley wearing denim overalls while walking throughout the city. Splash News Online

Christie Brinkley has openly admitted to undergoing a few procedures over the years, including fillers. To Brinkley, the key is not taking it too far. "If you want to look refreshed, it has to be with a light hand," the fashion industry icon told NewBeauty in 2016. "It's one of the biggest mistakes when people deliberately go for that 'done' appearance — to each his own, obviously, but that's not good."

The skincare enthusiast also believes choosing a doctor you feel comfortable with is just as essential. "It’s so important to choose the right doctor if you want to do anything along those lines,” the model said. “Don't change your face; maybe just change a wrinkle or two that's bothering you. You still should look like you."

Kim Zolciak-Biermann

Kim Zolciak-Biermann wearing a black sleeveless turtleneck top with matching sunglasses. X17online.com

Kim Zolciak-Biermann no longer feels like hiding her plastic surgery past. "I will always nip and tuck if I feel the need to do so," the Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding star told E! News in 2016. "I'm open about it. I don't care." Zolciak-Biermann said she's had a boob job, tummy tuck and Botox injections.

The reality star’s cosmetic interests have also rubbed off on her daughter Brielle Biermann, who, with her mother’s support, underwent treatment for her lips — something she’d been insecure about. “Since I was 14 I was like, I have to have my lips done right when I turn 18,” Biermann, then 21, told PEOPLE in 2019. “If I could’ve done it sooner I would’ve, and I don’t regret it.”

Although Biermann embraces the procedures she's had, she did caution her followers in 2023 about one common mistake: getting too much filler. “All I’m gonna say is if you start to get lip filler… Go to someone who will tell you no 🤦🏼‍♀️” she captioned a since-deleted Instagram post showing before and after her lips were overfilled. "I went to too many injectors, none of which would tell me no!"

Heidi Montag Pratt

Heidi Montag Pratt posing with a view of the beach in the distance.

Andrew Southam

"I was in way over my head with the surgeries," Heidi Montag Pratt, who once admitted to undergoing 10 cosmetic procedures in one day, told PEOPLE in 2016. "I had no idea what I was getting into or that it was a lifelong commitment. It was very challenging, both physically, emotionally, spiritually [and] mentally, on my husband and on our lives." But the former Hills star has come to terms with all the procedures, saying: "I don't want to say I regret it 100 percent because I've tried to grow from it."

Iggy Azalea

Iggy Azalea posing with Dr. Ashkan Ghavami in an Instagram selfie in 2016. Iggy Azalea Instagram

In 2015, Iggy Azalea opened up about her breast enhancement surgery — and why she decided to go public with it. "I'd feel better not to have some secret," the “Money Come” rapper told E! News at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. "I'd feel better not to have some secret. It's much freer to say it and then you don't have to worry someone will dig it up.”

The following year, Azalea shared a since-deleted Instagram post of the Beverly Hills, Calif., plastic surgeon responsible for her breast augmentation, Dr. Ashkan Ghavami. "He is the reason I have fabulously perky boobs … (LOL)," she captioned the image.

Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Tisdale attending the Ted Baker London's SS15 launch event at Avalon Hotel on March 4, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. Jason Merritt/Getty

Ashley Tisdale, who had plastic surgery to correct a deviated septum that interfered with her breathing, wanted her fans to know she had the procedure exclusively for health-related reasons. Rather than denying the mounting rumors, the High School Musical star came clean, telling PEOPLE in 2007: "I want my fans to know the truth. I'm not someone who is going to act like I had nothing done. I just want to be honest because my fans are everything to me."

Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian arriving at the Bellagio to host the Labor Day weekend bash on Aug. 31, 2013, in Las Vegas. Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic

"I have had breast implants, but it's so funny 'cause it's not a secret. I could care less," Kourtney Kardashian divulged in a 2010 interview. She then mocked a tabloid for getting the timeline of the procedure completely wrong: "It's so funny because the 'before' picture that they showed was after I had my boob job, so I'm like, they should have written 'before Mason' and 'after Mason.' My boobs have tripled since breastfeeding."

Kathy Griffin

Kathy Griffin attending E!'s 'Fashion Police' and NYLON kickoff of NY Fashion Week with 50 Shades of Fashion in celebration of the Universal Studios film 'Fifty Shades of Grey' at PHD at the Dream Downtown on Feb. 11, 2015, in New York City. Theo Wargo/Getty

For years, Kathy Griffin struggled with low self-esteem and spoke out about the pressure placed on women performers to look perfect. When she was 26, the comedian had her nose done because she had been told repeatedly, "You would be pretty if it weren't for that nose. You'd work more if it weren't for that nose." In her 2009 memoir, Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, she revealed that complications from a liposuction procedure almost killed her. She wrote: "I want women to know that this is what lipo looks like. Like, are you sure you don't want to just work out a little more?"

Patricia Heaton

Patricia Heaton visiting SiriusXM Studios on May 7, 2014, in New York City.

Robin Marchant/Getty

"It's better to be honest if you can. There is a lot in Hollywood that is not as it seems," Patricia Heaton told PEOPLE in 2003 after getting a tummy tuck and breast reduction surgery. "It's really not fair, the image we present to the world. Women shouldn't look at people they see on TV and compare themselves to them, because you aren't seeing those women the way they really are."

Sharon Osbourne

Sharon Osbourne posing in the winners room at the MTV EMA's 2014 at The Hydro on Nov. 9, 2014, in Glasgow, Scotland. Anthony Harvey/Getty

Not only do we appreciate celebrities who are honest about how plastic surgery can perpetuate myths of the "perfect" body and the "ideal" face, we love Sharon Osbourne for coming clean about one crucial detail for anyone considering going under the knife — it hurts like hell. "If anybody says their face-lift doesn't hurt, they're lying,” she told PEOPLE in 2003. “It was like I'd spent the night with an ax murderer. They take your ears off and put them back on."

Lisa Kudrow

Lisa Kudrow attending the 2015 Writers Guild Awards L.A. Ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on Feb. 14, 2015, in Century City, California. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

For Lisa Kudrow, her high school nose job was truly life-changing. “I went from, in my mind, hideous, to not hideous," the Web Therapy actress told The Saturday Evening Post in 2013, per ABC News. "I did it the summer before going to a new high school. So there were plenty of people who wouldn't know how hideous I looked before." While we don't love Kudrow referring to her teen self as hideous, we're glad she's still pleased with the decision.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis attending the premiere of Pantelion Films' 'Spare Parts' at ArcLight Cinemas on Jan. 8, 2015, in Hollywood, California. Vincent Sandoval/WireImage

Jamie Lee Curtis got honest about her cosmetic procedures in the hopes of dissuading women from making the same mistake. "I've done it all. I've had a little plastic surgery. I've had a little lipo. I've had a little Botox. And you know what? None of it works. None of it," she told More magazine in 2002, as reported by The Telegraph. "All of these 'bettering' experiences are not without risk."

Courtney Love

Courtney Love attends the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 22, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. Venturelli/Getty

Courtney Love copped to her nose job on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2014, claiming she wasn't getting any of the parts she auditioned for because of her "schnoz." "Yeah I got my nose fixed," she said, owning her choice while disparaging the industry that made her get it. "In six months, the whole world changed."

Joey Fatone

Joey Fatone attends Max: Behind the Scenes with Place Your Bets on 'Hacks' at Verizon Live at Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nev.

Mike Coppola/Getty

The pop star wasn’t ashamed to share his experience with going under the knife to feel his best — and he knows he isn’t alone. ​"It's crazy how many guys get work done," the *NSYNC singer told PEOPLE in 2023. "They don't broadcast it because a lot of men are very shy or embarrassed about it, but there's nothing to be embarrassed about! I'm never afraid to tell people about this stuff. Who cares?"

Fatone, who has received hair plugs and a fat removal procedure via AirSculpt, had no regrets about it. "I'm not trying to change my look,” he added. “I'm not trying to change who I am. I'm just trying to just edit it a little bit!"

SZA

SZA at the 'Billboard' Power 100 event held at NeueHouse Hollywood on Jan. 31, 2024, in Los Angeles, Calif.

John Salangsang/Billboard via Getty

Like many other stars, health concerns also informed SZA’s plastic surgery decisions. She opened up as much when she appeared on the SHE MD podcast in March 2024 wherein she said that her family’s history of breast cancer diagnoses prompted her to remove her breast implants. “When I got my boobs done, my doctor took out some of my fibrosis, but … there was so much fibrosis, it was crazy,” the “Kill Bill” singer shared. “And he took it out. And so, when I went back, a lot of the concerns were gone.”

Boy George

Boy George attends the Attitude Awards at the Roundhouse on Oct. 11, 2023, in London, England.

Joe Maher/Getty

Boy George isn’t against a cosmetic procedure. Despite the excruciating surgical experience, he didn’t stop there. “It’s time to confess I had three hair transplants around 2015–2018 — two in Ireland and a final one in LA — and the weird thing is no one remembers I was bald as a shaved badger,” the Culture Club vocalist wrote in his 2024 memoir, Karma. “I had a tummy tuck not long after, which was the most painful thing I’ve ever done because I went on tour straight after with Cyndi Lauper with the blood bag attached.”

Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen attends the 'Vanity Fair' Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 10, 2024, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Taylor Hill/Getty

In January 2024, Chrissy Teigen misunderstood the rules while playing “The Lies Have It” with Below Deck alumna Kate Chastain on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “I’ve had my boobs done three times,” the cookbook author said as her “lie,” though she eventually admitted it was actually true.

“I feel like the boob job thing is never going to come back around and now no one’s going to know,” said the model, who first got breast implants when she was 20. “I’ve had a lift, a put in, a take them out. I don’t like them out.”